Insomnia and the Menopausal Woman

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Insomnia is defined as: difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night, waking up too early or waking up unrefreshed.

I don’t know about you, but for me, sleep is my drug of choice. It re-energizes, heals, and stimulates like nothing else. Unfortunately, for many women better than 40, sleep, can be a hard-won luxury.

Sleep disturbances come in many different forms, from difficulty falling asleep to difficulty staying asleep and can cause a decided decrease in quality of life.

Though lethargy is the most annoying side effect, lack of regular, rejuvenating sleep can cause more than a draggy, tired feeling. Your moods can be affected; you may suffer from depression, a decrease in productivity, confusion and poor judgment. It can have you feeling like you’re back to night feedings without the satisfaction of having a baby.

For menopausal women sleep disturbances can be triggered by hot flashes or excessive sweating. It can also be due to mineral imbalances caused by a change in digestion and deficiencies of one or more specific nutrients.

Though sleep aids may be seductive they can be addictive. Also, they only treat the symptom rather than getting to the cause. Before taking any kind of sleep aid ask yourself these questions first:

· Am I dealing with any extra stress?

· Am I getting over stimulated before bedtime by watching action movies, news or reading exciting books?

· Do I find it difficult to shut off my brain?

Stress, whether it is felt or not can impact your health dramatically. Before bedtime try listening to soothing meditative music and spend some time either meditating or praying. Of course, watching the news just before bedtime, with its plethora of depressing information is probably not a good idea. A good love story or comedy are great choices for helping you calm down before bed. If you have trouble shutting off your brain put some of the energy into writing in your journal. Keep it by your bed and if you wake up in the middle of the night pour out your angst, to yourself.